Apple chipmaker TSMC announced plans to open a third chip plant in Arizona, adding to the two already under construction. It will be the most advanced of the three factories, producing 2nm chips.
The expansion plan appears to have been part of a deal for the company to receive a total of $11.6 billion in US grants and loans …
Reference information about TSMC chip factories in Arizona
TSMC's announcement to build a chip factory in Arizona was hailed as a major success for the US CHIP Act, designed to free the US from dependence on China for advanced chip supplies and job creation for American workers. Apple proudly announced that it would source American-made chips for some of its devices.
However, the shine soon began to wear off. The first plant would only be able to produce larger chips suitable only for older Apple devices, and soon TSMC demanded more subsidies and fewer regulations.
The project fell behind schedule and ended. budget, and production has already been postponed to 2025, from 2024. There is talk that American-made chips will cost more than chips made in Taiwan, which could mean Apple will buy fewer of them than originally expected.
There have been claims that the first plant will be pressed -papier, since the products will need to be sent back to Taiwan for the so-called “packaging”; the process of encapsulating different boards into a single chip. However, Apple later announced that it would order another facility in the US for chip packaging.
The US plans to provide Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company 6.6 billion dollars in grants and as much as $5 billion in loans to help the world's largest chipmaker build factories in Arizona. an expansion of President Joe Biden's efforts to increase domestic production of critical technologies.
Under a preliminary agreement announced by the United States on Monday, TSMC will build a third plant in Phoenix, adding to two expected facilities in the state to begin production in 2025 and 2028.
While this is a huge amount of money, it is hoped that it will bring good benefits to the US economy: $5 billion will be returned, leaving a net profit. investment of US$6.6 billion in exchange for TSMC investing nearly nine times as much money into the venture.
In total, the package will support more than US$65 billion. investments at three factories by TSMC, a leading chip manufacturer for companies such as Apple and Nvidia.
Photo by Mason Field on Unsplash
